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Will hear public comment Thursday
STATE HOUSE – The special legislative commission studying Rhode Island’s health care workforce and issues related to educating and retaining primary care physicians will meet this week to hear public testimony.
Additionally, today the commission released a feasibility study on the creation of a medical school at the University of Rhode Island.
The Special Legislative Commission to Make a Comprehensive Study of Rhode Island’s Healthcare Workforce Related to Educating & Retaining Primary Care Physicians & Establishing a State Medical School at the University of Rhode Island is scheduled to meet Thursday, October 9, at 5 p.m. in the Senate Lounge on the second floor of the State House. The purpose of this meeting will be to accept public comment. The agenda is available here.
The Independent Feasibility Study into a Medical School at the University of Rhode Island was completed for the commission by the consulting firm Tripp Umbach. The study recommends the establishment of a public, M.D.-granting medical education program at URI, and outlines a proposed four-year, five-phase plan that would culminate in the launch of the program’s charter class in Fall 2029.
The Tripp Umbach report will inform the commission’s work. The commission will issue its recommendations, based upon the report and the totality of its hearings, by January 2, 2026.
Establishing a School of Medicine at URI is “both viable and necessary to meet the state’s pressing healthcare needs,” the study concludes, and it would “help build a more prosperous Rhode Island” by “enhancing workforce development and postsecondary education and increasing per capita income.” The study also finds that a “multi-year funding strategy anchored by private philanthropy, state appropriations, and matching gifts will provide the resources needed for launch and long-term stability.”
Among the report’s key findings:
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In line with national trends, Rhode Island is “confronting a deepening physician shortage, particularly in its communities that are already underserved by primary care and the existing healthcare infrastructure, transforming a workforce challenge into a pressing statewide emergency.” By 2030, the state is projected to have a deficit of roughly 100 primary care providers.
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Rhode Island’s rapidly aging population is a major contributor to the “unprecedented pressures” on the state’s health care system. As of 2023, one in four of the state’s 1.1 million residents was age 60 or older, a demographic that has the highest per-capita need for health care services.
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Rhode Island has successfully utilized targeted incentive programs to strengthen the recruitment and retention of health care providers, including a grant program, student loan forgiveness, and support for primary care training. Creating a medical school at URI would “amplify the impact of these state-led recruitment and retention initiatives by creating a direct, local pipeline of physicians trained to meet Rhode Island’s needs.”
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URI has a solid institutional foundation for developing a new public medical school when compared with other public universities that have recently launched M.D. programs, including significant growth in research as a designated Carnegie R1 institution and the well-established Colleges of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The study finds that a public M.D. program “represents a clear and strategic pathway for the University of Rhode Island to address the state’s most pressing healthcare and economic challenges” and is “an essential investment in the future health, economic vitality, and resilience of Rhode Island and its communities.”
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Strong, universal interest exists among Rhode Island health care organizations to create partnerships with a new URI medical school, and the development of the new M.D. program will be “driven by strategic partnerships with Rhode Island’s hospitals, health systems, and community clinics.” Utilizing a “community-based education model ensures students receive a high-quality, consistent, and integrated clinical education from the onset.” Expansion of graduate medical education opportunities will also boost long-term physician retention in Rhode Island.
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URI’s medical school would be financially viable and would “generate a transformative return” on the state’s investment. That investment includes $175 million in private and state contributions for start-up and facilities, along with ongoing annual state support of approximately $22.5 million and additional funding for grant- and loan-based retention programs. The study finds that the new URI School of Medicine would contribute approximately $196 million annually to Rhode Island’s economy, and projects that for every $1 taxpayers invest in the new medical school, nearly $30 in economic activity, tax revenue, and health care cost savings will be generated.
Thursday’s meeting will be televised by Capitol Television, which can be seen by Cox Communications subscribers on channels 15 and 61 for high definition, on channel 15 by i3Broadband viewers, and channel 34 for Verizon subscribers. Livestreaming is available at https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv.
Co-chaired by Sen. Pamela J. Lauria (D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol, East Providence) and URI President Marc B. Parlange, the 21-member Commission is tasked with studying Rhode Island’s health care workforce related to educating and retaining primary care physicians.
For more information, contact:
Greg Pare, Director of Communications for the Senate
State House Room 112
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 276-5558
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